When we haven't been busy trying to crack these compelling cases, we've also spent some time reminiscing over the all-time best whodunits from soap history. Do you remember getting gripped by these twisty-turny sagas?

Five official suspects were named by Corrie to promote the storyline, with Carla, Sally, Kevin, Peter and Michelle all in the frame in the murder investigation that followed. (Is Peter ever not in the frame?)

The good news was that Corrie only made us wait three weeks or so to reveal the culprit, who turned out to be Frank's own mother Anne. (She wasn't on the official suspects list or part of the regular cast, plus everyone had already figured it out, but at least it provided a dramatic few episodes.)

9. Who pushed P.R.? (Neighbours)

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There's no prizes for guessing where Neighbours took their inspiration from for this storyline, with even the plot's tagline cheekily referencing Dallas. In a special story written in to mark Neighbours' 6,000th episode in August 2010, someone pushed the soap's sole remaining original character Paul Robinson from the Lassiter's Hotel mezzanine.

Neighbours waited one month to give fans the answers they were desperate for, with Paul's own wife Rebecca revealing that she was responsible. In true villainous style, Paul then used her confession to his own advantage by blackmailing her into staying with him.

Show producers later let some juicy information slip by revealing that theyoriginally planned to have Paul shot rather than pushed, but the idea was vetoed due to the soap's strict G-rating in Australia. So that's why all the shootings take place in Summer Bay these days.

8. Who shot Robert Sugden? (Emmerdale)

When the newly-recast Robert Sugden returned to Emmerdale in 2014 and was a right sod to nearly everyone, it was only ever a matter of time before someone decided to take him out. Sure enough, a dark storyline airing in September 2015 saw one of Robert's enemies pushed to breaking point by gunning him down, shortly after the scandalous truth about Katie Sugden's death had been exposed.

As well as confirming that Ross Barton shot Robert (under instructions from Rob's vengeful brother Andy), the time twist revealed Ashley's dementia diagnosis for the first time and also offered a first look at Paddy's ill-fated affair with Tess Harris.

7. The Gloved Hand Killer (Hollyoaks)

Hollyoaks took inspiration from camp '80s soaps in 2015 when one of the Dee Valley Hospital staff turned evil by randomly bumping off patients. As we only ever saw a mysterious gloved hand dishing out lethal injections each time, the unknown culprit was immediately dubbed the "Gloved Hand Killer".

More of a "who's doing it?" than a whodunit, the ruthless Gloved Hand claimed seven victims during its reign of terror and also tried to kill five more. Hollyoaks also gave the mystery its own interactive twist, releasing hidden pages of the Gloved Hand's diary online which contained clues to the next victim. Even Digital Spy got in on the act, with one of the diary pages hidden away right here on the soaps section.

In one of the most drawn-out whodunits of all time, EastEnders killed off Lucy Beale in mysterious circumstances on Good Friday 2014, as her lifeless body was discarded on Walford Common. The show waited until its 30th anniversary in February 2015 to finally reveal the culprit, forcing fans to wait ten months for answers. (It felt like forever.)

Let's not be too harsh, though – the various clues and red herrings along the way helped to breathe new life into EastEnders after a quiet period for the show. Producers also went all-out for the big reveal, organising a special "Live Week" and flashback episode to solve the mystery once and for all.

As the show's episodes returned to a normal timeline straight afterwards, eager soap fans had to wait for six months to find out who the shooter was – with various motives for murdering Calvin becoming clear in the build-up.

When the regular airings finally caught up with the flashforward, Carmel's cousin Theresa was unveiled as the surprise shooter, wanting revenge after Calvin got her pregnant and told her to have an abortion. Just like Emmerdale, Hollyoaks were also not-too-keen to see their killer face the music, with Theresa only being sent to prison in 2014 when Jorgie Porter took a short break from the show. And she was out in no time – where's the justice?

4. Who killed Tom King? (Emmerdale)

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Emmerdale's most famous whodunit aired in 2006, when the show's Christmas special saw Tom King's wedding day go disastrously wrong. After a tense day, Tom was clobbered over the head with an ornament and pushed out of his bedroom window at Home Farm, causing his untimely death.

Emmerdale put ten official suspects in the frame for the murder and also gave the story a before-its-time interactive element, launching a game online which encouraged fans to gather clues and track down the killer ahead of the big reveal.

Five months after the murder, Emmerdale revealed that Tom's own son Carl was the perpetrator. Unusually, Carl stayed in the show rather than being carted off for his comeuppance, only being written out when he was culled by Killer Cameron in 2012. The soap gods always get you in the end.

3. Who killed Archie? (EastEnders)

In late 2009 and early 2010, EastEnders fans were gripped by the mystery of who murdered Archie Mitchell. The Square's resident supervillain had his head bashed in with the Queen Vic bust on Christmas Day 2009, and just like every other soap whodunit, he'd upset so many people that half of Walford were suspects.

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EastEnders didn't reveal the culprit until its 25th anniversary in February 2010, when the show's first ever live episode confirmed that Stacey Branning had committed the grisly deed.

Going live for the big reveal helped EastEnders to keep the closely-guarded secret under wraps right until broadcast, with multiple endings being rehearsed and only the show's top bosses knowing the outcome. Even Lacey Turner, who plays Stacey, was only told of her character's guilt 30 minutes before she went on air – talk about putting the pressure on.

2. Who shot Phil? (EastEnders)

Perhaps taking inspiration from Dallas (who are we kidding, they definitely did), EastEnders launched its biggest ever whodunit in March 2001 when Phil Mitchell was gunned down on his own doorstep by a mystery attacker. The shocking incident followed months of Phil making various enemies around Walford, putting several characters in the frame.

17 million viewers tuned in for the shooting itself, while the soap's audience rose to a whopping 20 million when Phil's ex-girlfriend Lisa was unmasked as the culprit the following month.

Proving just how much the saga gripped the nation, the Liverpool and Barcelona UEFA Cup semi-final was postponed for 15 minutes to make way for a special 40 minute edition of EastEnders that night. Certainly a far cry from EastEnders making way for the football these days...

1. Who shot JR? (Dallas)

It may not be on air these days, but at least US soap Dallas can boast that it had the most iconic whodunit plot in TV history. When archvillain J.R. Ewing was shot by an unknown assailant in the show's third season finale in March 1980, viewers had an agonising eight-month wait to find out who the culprit was.

An all-out frenzy followed over the summer as the mystery gripped the nation and Dallas's huge international audiences too. T-shirts proudly proclaiming "I shot J.R." became best sellers, while even the Queen Mother couldn't resist asking actor Larry Hagman who shot him when he paid a visit to the UK. (Despite the risk of offending royalty, he wouldn't tell her!)

In the end, the mystery was solved in November that year, as an estimated 350 million viewers worldwide tuned in to see J.R.'s sister-in-law and mistress Kristin Shepard exposed as the shooter.